Worm, except its in New Zealand
by axleonex
Summary: Amy, Taylor, and Lisa decide to move to New Zealand to set up their own parahuman investigation business. With a new setting and new people, these three will have to work together to fight crime and unravel the hidden mysteries that the country has to offer.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Why New Zealand you ask? I don't know, I've just always wanted to see more international capes. I just think New Zealand would be a cool setting.

XXX

Jonathan stepped into the agency headquarters to meet with the new residents of Auckland New Zealand. The words at the front of the building said "New Wave Inc." with a kiwi logo replacing the period. Jonathan knew the agency well, but he never thought he'd have to step in to ask for their assistance.

The office space was small. Almost like a dentist office, there was a space for him to sit with magazines rested at the center of the room. There was only one receptionist. A blonde girl, no older than sixteen, glanced up after Jonathan stepped into the building.

"Here for Taylor Hebert, Amy Dallon, or Lisa Wilbourn?"

Jonathan scratched his chin, "Insight…"

The girl shook her head, "we're not on alias name basis anymore. We go by first and last names now, for formality's sake."

"Then the um…" Jonathan couldn't form his words right.

She said, "for the detective services?"

He nodded.

"Then that would be me." Lisa rolled her desk to the side, and took out a clipboard with forms of paper to rest onto her desk. "Then I'll just need you to sign these. Keep in mind, we won't make any charges until the the investigation is successfully completed."

Jonathan shuffled through the papers. Some words were bolded, specifically emphasizing that the job success and client safety wasn't guaranteed. Jonathan asked, "do you guys have, um… enemies?"

"Of course not," Lisa answered. "But some people come here thinking that by hiring super powered services, it also guarantees having a bodyguard. It doesn't. We aren't responsible for the client's safety, so you'll just have to take care of yourself the same way everyone else does."

Jonathan nodded. That was fair. He sat on the waiting chair and began signing the papers. After a few minutes of waiting, two more girls stepped into the office with an insect container at hand.

The taller girl, curly haired with black hair, said to Lisa, "Lisa, that client we met with was a no-go. He wanted me to breed yellow lobsters overseas. When I told him we couldn't do that, he threatened me with a lawsuit."

"We get lawsuits every week," Lisa said. "No biggie."

The freckled brown haired girl behind her crossed her arms, "he also implied worse things than a lawsuit would happen if we didn't say yes."

Lisa scratched her cheek. "I warned you about him, right? That he was infamous for his jobs in South America?"

The both of them nodded. Lisa said, "trust me when I say this. As long as neither of you are visiting South America anytime soon, his threats are empty in New Zealand."

The brown haired girl spoke in a sadder tone, "I wanted to visit Brazil next summer…"

The taller girl turned over to Jonathan and greeted him with a nod. "You're here for business?"

"For detective work," Jonathan replied, "my um… Coworker is missing."

The girl glanced over to Lisa who only shrugged in response. She said to Jonathan, "I'm Taylor, formerly known as Weaver from Brockton Bay. And this is Amy, who's better known for her work as Panacea."

"I'm Jonathan. Nice to meet you all."

"Do you mind if we asked you some questions about the missing person while you're here?"

"Sure."

"How old was the missing person?" Taylor asked,.

"Eighteen," Jonathan answered. "A year younger than me. She was new at the workplace, but she was really good at what she did."

"Was she pretty?" Amy asked.

"Gay," Lisa teased.

"Shut up," Amy squinted, "I'm being serious, its related to what might've happened."

Jonathan blushed a little at the question. He had a big crush on the girl, but he always did his best to keep his relationship with her strictly professional.

"The answer is yes," Lisa answered for him. "Where was the last place you saw her?"

"I didn't see her," he explained. "The studio offered to pay for her stay at Oban last weekend. They paid for her motel and everything just to interview a group of ecologists in the region. But then she went missing. No one heard of her. She didn't tell anyone she was going somewhere else, and we contacted the police but none of them know where she might've gone."

"Oban?" Taylor said with a grim look on her face.

Jonathan nodded.

"Heartbreaker," all the girls said at once.

Jonathan's eyes widened, "Heartbreaker? That villain in Canada?"

Taylor nodded at him. "It isn't common knowledge yet, but Heartbreaker recently joined the Fallen after things became too hot in North America. He's in charge of a Fallen branch in New Zealand now. No one has been able to narrow down exactly where he's gone, but the Maia Toa have been able to guarantee that the Fallen don't have a foothold in north or south islands. Which means he's only limited to the territories outside the mainlands."

Jonathan's heart sank at the sound of that. He'd heard terrible things from both the Fallen and Heartbreaker. The thought of his friend being kidnapped from them made him physically sick.

Amy comforted him, "we know Heartbreaker has some level of foothold in Stewart island, but we still aren't sure if your friend was kidnapped by him. Do you have a picture of the person?"

Jonathan nodded. He took out his phone, and showed a still image of a tan skinned girl standing on a boat, smiling at the camera enjoying the experience of the sea around her. She had dark curly hair, with bright amber eyes as she smiled.

They were right, she was indeed beautiful, which only made her a more viable target for Heartbreaker.

"I remember her," Taylor said. "She interviewed us when we first set up shop here."

Jonathan nodded. "That's why I came here. The news network won't pay for private investigators like this. That's why I'll pay out of pocket, if anyone could find her, its you three."

"You want a discount," Amy said bluntly. Jonathan indeed would've liked a discount, but didn't expect one. In truth, he wasn't able to afford their services. He was planning to use his savings, take a loan, and possibly crowdfund for their help. Because even though there was a chance she'd never be found, he wanted to use every possible avenue to try and find her.

"We'll do it for free," Taylor spoke in a leader-like tone.

Lisa rolled her eyes, "this is why you're bad for business. I'm taking away your bank privileges after we find her."

"You'll do it for free?" Jonathan spoke with his heart pounding.

"Of course," Taylor said confidently. "We're in the power business now, but we're still heroes."


	2. Chapter 2

**The interview:**

The reporter sat in front of the three heroines in a conference room on comfortable sofa chairs. The seats were comfortable enough for them. Taylor, Amy, and Lisa all made sure to wear their more formal attire for the televised event.

"I'm Ariana Turner on channel one news. Here with three heroes from Brockton Bay, who agreed to a Q & A toe explain why they're here in New Zealand, and what they hope to accomplish in the city of Auckland."

The reporter turned her head from the camera towards the three of them. "So what made you all decide to come to Auckland?"

"Change in scenery," Lisa commented, "Brockton Bay is nice, but I've always wanted a change in pace from the city landscape I grew up in."

It was a deflection of the question, because no way any of them were going to reveal the truth to why they were there.

"And what about you, Amelia?" the reporter asked. "Not only did you leave a city with higher crime rates, a place where you could do more good. Gut after coming here you've also done far less hospital visits than you did in your home city, and you've even began charging millionaires for expensive surgical procedures that they'd rather pay you for than for a certified expert. Are you giving up hero work to use your powers for business only?"

Amelia swallowed. Lisa said, "if you're good at something, never do it for free. If things were any different, you'd be a journalist out of the kindness of your heart. "

Ariana took it as a joke and smiled, "but I think being a reporter is different from being a reputable hero. Isn't charging people for their powers almost the same as doing mercenary work as a villain?"

Taylor shook her head at her, "I don't think that's a fair comparison, Ariana. Amy never took requests before coming to New Zealand, and she did it for the sake of being fair. The fact of the matter is, Amy can't be everywhere at once. Now that she's finally requests, I don't think she should be ridiculed for using her talents."

"I wouldn't call powers the same as talent, though."

"Then you don't understand what talent is," Taylor retorted. "Just because someone has an ability that isn't attainable, it doesn't mean it's a skill that should never be utilized. Should heroes never use their powers to stop criminals, and be police officers without using their powers to be fair? It's a narrowing viewpoint that stops parahumans from using the maximum extent of their abilities."

"Then I think that brings me to my next question. Taylor Hebert, you've began opening multiple businesses using your 'bug control' powers."

"Invertebrate control," Taylor emphasized. "I also can control crustaceans when need be."

Ariana nodded. "You've opened up multiple stores in the area, while simultaneously controlling bugs to create resources for yourself. This includes steel-fiber wools which you sell to super hero agencies around the world. Beehive farms to produce honey and pollination across the country. And more recently, aquafarms for lobsters and crabs, where you've began selling rare colored animals to restaurants for them to sell. Aren't you worried you'll be running people out of business? Why work with farmers and fishers when they have you?"

Taylor shook her head, "that isn't the case at all. Part of the reason we came to New Zealand was that this country better accommodates Parahuman powers for business than America and Canada does. All those things you just mentioned? I don't sell those things on my own, I need help just like anyone else does. While I make sure the bugs and fisheries are always one hundred percent productive, our agency has provided benefits to people who harvest those products. Think of me more like the supplier, and the citizens as the harvesters."

"She's creating jobs, not taking them," Lisa emphasized. "It's a common misconception that she'll replace everyone, the opposite is true. The more she makes, the more she needs help with it. Her being in Auckland actually helps the local business flow."

"And what about you, Lisa Wilbourn? What are you up to? If Amelia is charging people for her healing services, and Taylor runs businesses to the side, what has Insight been up to in the meantime?"

Lisa chuckled, "well, Ariana. I gave up that superhero name when I decided to join New Wave. Call me a skeptic, but the hero alias was just never for me."

"Why so?"

"There's too much distance between parahumans and non-parahumans. Which is why I like New Wave more than I liked being a Ward. I encouraged Taylor and Amy to come here so that they could both use their powers more productively."

"And what will you be doing? Specifically, the world knows you're a high class thinker, how do you plan on putting your powers to use in a new city?"

"Oh, I'm thinking more on a smaller scale than these two. I'm going to start a detective agency."

"A Detective agency?"

Lisa nodded, "once you go hero, it's hard to shake it out of you."


End file.
